RBI approves record ₹2.87 lakh crore dividend payout to Centre for FY26

The Reserve Bank of India’s central board on Friday approved the transfer of a record surplus of ₹2.87 lakh crore to the central government for the accounting year 2025-26.

The decision was taken at the 623rd meeting of the Central Board of Directors of the RBI held in Mumbai under the chairmanship of Governor Sanjay Malhotra.

According to an RBI statement, the board reviewed the global and domestic economic situation, including risks to the outlook, and deliberated on the annual accounts of the central bank for FY26.

The RBI said its gross income rose 26.42% year-on-year during 2025-26, while expenditure before risk provisions increased 27.60%.

The net income of the central bank, before risk provisions and transfer to statutory funds, stood at ₹3,95,972.10 crore in FY26 compared with ₹3,13,455.77 crore in FY25.

The balance sheet of the central bank expanded by 20.61% to ₹91,97,121.08 crore as on March 31, 2026.

Under the revised Economic Capital Framework (ECF), the RBI is required to maintain the Contingent Risk Buffer (CRB) within a range of 4.5% to 7.5% of the balance sheet size.

The central board decided to transfer ₹1,09,379.64 crore towards the CRB for FY26, much higher than ₹44,861.70 crore transferred in the previous fiscal, while maintaining the CRB at 6.5% of the RBI’s balance sheet.

The dividend or surplus transfer for 2024-25 was ₹2.69 lakh crore, 27.4% more than the payout in 2023-24.